American Society of Cinematographers Motion Imaging Technology Council Progress Report 2017

By Curtis Clark, ASC; David Reisner, D-Cinema picture camera developments, look management, virtual Consulting; David Stump, ASC; Bill Bennett, ASC; production techniques, lens developments, DI, motion Michael McDonough, ASC, BSC; Jay Holben; imaging workflows, projection and display technologies, Don Eklund; Bill Mandel; Michael Karagosian; archiving, as well as advanced imaging. Eric Rodli; Steve Schklair; Gary Demos; Jim Fancher; Filmmakers are currently experiencing the accel- erated convergence of several key technology develop- Gary Mandle; Greg Ciaccio; Tim Kang; Joshua Pines; ments that are expanding the creative possibilities of our David Morin; Garrett J. Smith; W. Thomas Wall digital motion imaging future. Prominent among these are high dynamic range (HDR) for both TV displays ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council Officers and in cinema, along with wide color gamut (WCG) beyond both BT.709 and DCI P3. Chair: Curtis Clark, ASC The rapid advance of HDR currently being deployed Vice-Chair: Richard Edlund, ASC for ultra-high definition (UHD) television displays, Vice-Chair: Steven Poster, ASC including the BT.2020 WCG target, has raised urgent Secretary: David Reisner, [email protected] questions regarding the standards-based implementa- tions which filmmakers need to reliably support their creative intent and ensure consistent image display quality Introduction across multiple content distribution platforms. Also, the ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council Chair: release of the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) Curtis Clark, ASC 1.0 has further encouraged wider industry adoption of this vital standards-based color management system and During our past 14 years of proactive motion picture and image interchange framework that supports filmmakers’ TV industry engagement, the ASC Technology Commit- use of WCG with HDR. Both WCG and HDR are cru- tee has played a significant leadership role in guiding the cial to the development of a new expanded creative can- evolution and development of key motion imaging tech- vas with enriched color palette. It should be noted that nologies to better support our filmmaking art form. new development work on ACES has recently begun that Many of our industry partners and supporters of our will further enhance its performance throughout pro- recommendations, along with users of our technolo- duction and postproduction. gies, have suggested that the Committee’s name does In addition to greater spatial resolution (4K/8K), not sufficiently convey the scope and influence that there is growing interest in increased temporal resolu- our activities have had on important motion imaging tion via higher frame rates beyond 24 frames/sec, up to technology developments. In response to that input 120 frames/sec. and after careful consideration, we have decided to I would also like to mention that important fur- change the Committee’s name to the ASC Motion ther developments are being planned for our multi- Imaging Technology Council. We believe this bet- Award-winning ASC CDL (American Society of ter represents the expanded scope of the work we are Cinematographers Color Decision List). Please see the doing and our widely recognized role as industry report from our DI Committee for details. leaders - influencing the advance of motion imaging The convergence of these advanced digital motion technologies in ways that best serve the creative interests imaging developments requires enhanced workflow of filmmakers while emphasizing the cinematographer’s infrastructure to successfully support their implemen- contribution to the art form. tation from shooting through post finishing. These Our subcommittees will now be desig- important developments are gaining solid traction which nated Committees of the ASC Motion Imaging is accelerating their adoption by filmmakers to enable Technology Council. We will continue to encour- greater creative potential. age our Committees to work in a coordinated manner, Our Committees are advancing their work as reported combining their expertise on topics of wide interest and in our 2016 ASC Technology Committee progress report. concern, including ACES, HDR, digital motion We continue to proactively engage key technology developments that are influencing our motion imaging future. Digital Object Identifier 10.5594/JMI.2017.2721778 Date of publication: 18 August 2017 In addition to high dynamic range (HDR), the latest

26 SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal | September 2017 1545-0279/17©2017SMPTE high resolution TV displays (both consumer and profes- Scientific and Technical Awards Committee, the sional), cinema projection, wide color gamut (WCG), ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council Camera evolving Virtual Production techniques, along with the Committee, and others, this year camera vendors most recent digital motion picture cameras and lenses, have seemed to become fully awake to the critical role we are further expanding the scope of our work to include of IR (Infra-Red) filters in digital imagers. This is an Virtual Reality (VR). important change as the relationship between IR fil- The following reports from our Committees cover in ters and digital imagers is an intimate one, and camera detail their crucial work to address the growing array manufacturers are in by far the best position to address of motion imaging technology developments impacting the issue. the art of filmmaking. High Dynamic Range displays can provide an imme- The ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council is diately compelling image, and the value of that attrac- guided by its primary mission to engage and influence tiveness has not been lost on consumer electronics motion imaging technology developments in ways that manufacturers. The majority of UHDTVs (the current better serve and protect the filmmaker’s creative intent generation of consumer TVs) are HDR-capable, but and the role of the cinematographer in realizing a cre- the characteristics vary meaningfully from product to ative vision that best serves that creative intent. product – both minimum and peak brightness (peak I would like to thank all those who generously devote usually different for small and large fields) and the map- their time and expertise to support the mission of the ping from input signal to displayed image. These varia- ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council. tions make it challenging to consistently deliver artistic intent to the viewer. For several years, the ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council has been working with Secretary’s Comment studios and manufactures to try and improve this situation, but the problem is quite complicated in both abso- ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council lute and practical technical terms and with the multiple Secretary: David Reisner, [email protected] business interests including manufactures, content pro- As we have learned in many areas of our world and our viders, and broadcasters. (In this case, OTT providers work, when an activity or technology has moved into are the easiest part and often strongest allies.) From the digital realm, development and change happen both the business+viewer side, see our UHDTV Committee quickly and continuously. report. To really understand the technical and artis- In the last couple of years, digital cinema cameras tic intent issues, and to appreciate part of the massive have reached feature motion picture levels of perfor- problem of the need for many masters and distribution mance, and we have seen several cameras gain wide, versions, I strongly commend both this and last year’s popular use and acceptance. I had thought the pace of Advanced Imaging Committee reports. camera development and release would slow, but exactly While, so far, High Dynamic Range is mostly the opposite has been true. The past year has shown deployed in the home, there is certainly interest in a surge in release of new cameras, all the way from HDR presentation in the theater. Dolby is making high-end personal video cameras thru high-end feature strong efforts with their DolbyVision theaters, IMAX motion picture cameras from multiple manufacturers. has their own high-quality and High Dynamic Range See our Camera Committee report for a deeper dig. theaters, and DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) has It is, as ever, the artist’s job to identify the right cam- recently approved Samsung’s new and nicely designed, era, with the right set of characteristics, for the individual large, modular Cinema Screen emissive display for movie or show, which gives us the happy responsibility use in D-Cinema theaters. See our Next Generation of doing show-specific testing. With things like ACES in Cinema Display Committee report for more on theatri- the workflow, camera-to-camera consistency has signifi- cal displays. cantly improved for digital cameras, but I still strongly Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning advocate scene-to-screen testing before selecting equip- (particularly Deep Learning) are terms and technolo- ment and starting a project (which ultimately improves gies that are already changing our world. I did work in results, saves money, and protects schedule). (HBO’s those areas in the early-1980s and originated Pervasive Camera Assessment Series 2017 (their 5th season) does Computing (a more sophisticated forebearer of the cur- their best job yet giving insight into camera characteris- rently popular IoT - Internet of Things), and I predict tics. A viewing on your target medium – HDTV (High- that the effect of those changes will fundamentally Definition Television), UHDTV (Ultra-High-Definition reshape what we consider normal and expected. Think Television), or cinema – should definitely be on your list.) of the fundamental changes in behaviour and expecta- After years of work, study, and comment by rental tions caused by cell phones / smart phones, and magnify houses, the Academy Sci-Tech Council, the Academy and apply across even wider areas of human activity.

September 2017 | SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal 27 How that will manifest in entertainment imaging is still developing a project to produce a short virtual reality a matter of speculation and experiment, but a near-term narrative. need is finding ways to deliver artistic intent to view- So, the ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council ers across a wide range of devices with very different should have enough to keep us busy for awhile… characteristics, without having to create a large num- The ASC was formed 98 years ago to help industry ber of masters by-hand. Cloud infrastructure, massive experts work together as a team to produce exceptional data communication, and computational resources imaging and tell exceptional stories. The modern ASC made available by the work of companies like Google, actively continues that tradition through the every-day Amazon, Nvidia, and many others, and large scale cus- work of its Members, Associates, and staff. tomers including Netflix, Amazon, and other OTT providers will give the opportunity for that development and deployment. Massive technology serving the goal of delivering artistic intent to the broadest range of Camera Committee viewers. Chair: David Stump, ASC Another element of the world’s digital transition will Vice-Chair: Richard Edlund, ASC surely be Computational Imaging – various methods Vice-Chair: Bill Bennett, ASC of collecting a lot of light information and then using The ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council Camera computation to form that into images for a specific Committee engaged in a number of community activi- purpose. We will certainly see computational imaging ties this year. used widely – perhaps universally – in devices like cell phones. While movie-making is enjoying and benefit- Metadata ing from the continued development of “traditional” The interest kindled in the last few years at numer- cameras, the scale and cloud-accessibility of computa- ous camera manufacturers, lens companies and soft- tional resources will continue to make Computational ware companies is moving forward in renewed effort to Imaging a possible component of our movie-making unify metadata standards in cinematography, especially world. Although there remains significant technological lens data for inclusion in image files. Zeiss have very development to be done in Computational Imaging, our recently introduced their new ZEISS CP.3 Compact biggest issues will be aesthetic – how or if to use it to tell Prime lenses with eXtended Data that tracks focus stories compellingly – and business – how to manage a information, lens distortion and shading characteristic production and its budget so that cinematographers, the information in realtime for every frame. That meta- artists of imaging, are involved at all the points in the data is either recorded to the camera data stream or to process where the image is shaped – in production and an Ambient MasterLockitPlus. The Compact Primes now in the vastly expanded image shaping of post-pro- provide the metadata included into DPX files or RAW duction where a cinematographer’s artistry and involve- files via either system, depending on the camera set up, ment will be completely essential. and some grading tools are now giving users the ability The surge in Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented to de-warp and control lens shading on set. The lenses Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). Although when are compatible with the Cooke I system, and provide well done, VR is obviously compelling, we don’t yet a glimpse into the future of automated realtime on set know how it will function for long-form entertainment. metadata collection. Humans have told stories to other humans for as long as we have been around, but listening to stories is still Emerging Camera Technology almost entirely a sit-back activity. We don’t know if sit- At the beginning of 2016 the Camera Committee received forward story telling will yield a compelling experience, a request to evaluate a new prototype camera technol- regardless of the balance of production cost and audi- ogy: the Lytro light field cinema camera. As a matter of ence. From an entirely different angle on story telling, personal interest, I have been following development of the video game market remains huge (perhaps $75B/year Light Field capture and plenoptic computational imag- vs. movie industry $35B/year (Wall Street Journal)). ing via the research papers on the topic that first came Aside from entertainment and market size, I continue out of Stanford University, so after discussions with the to predict that AR (or perhaps what is now sometimes Lytro Camera Company, the Virtual Reality Company called MR) will make huge and important differences in (VRC) and Curtis Clark, ASC, I agreed to work as DP our world – computer analysis and assistance for a sur- for director Robert Stromberg to shoot a short test film geon or aircraft engine repair engineer being traditional with the Lytro Cinema prototype camera. examples. For a good look at actual current activity, see The short film “Life” was developed and designed the reports from our Joint Technology Committee on by Robert, and shots were defined together with Lytro’s Virtual Reality and Joint Technology Committee on Executive Producer, Jeff Barnes, to produce a test that Virtual Production. The Virtual Reality Committee is could demonstrate capabilities of the technology.

28 SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal | September 2017 The success of the debut of the camera and the short Eastman Kodak film led to the development of a second generation light Yes, film… Kodak announced the opening of a film labs filed camera at Lytro, and I hope to be taking their sec- in London and New York City to process negative, and ond generation light field camera onto a real world pro- provide film scanning services. Number of movies shot duction later this year. on film: 39 in 2014, ~64 in 2015, ~29 in 2016. The winner Additionally, the Camera Committee has been track- of the 2017 Academy Award for Best Cinematography, ing the development and introduction of several new “La La Land” was shot on 35mm film. cameras for digital cinema. Other Technologies ARRI High Frame Rate acquisition and post processing. RealD Alexa SXT, using the same sensor as previous ver- TrueMotion sions of the Alexa, has the ability to record in-camera This technique was used by Ang Lee and John Toll, UHD ProRes or DCI 4K ProRes, both are upscaled ASC to create the 24 frames/sec and 60 frames/sec resolutions, as the sensor is 3.4k. Can record ProRes release versions of “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk”. to SxS cards or CFast cards, and ArriRaw to Codex Bill Bennett, ASC also used this technique to shoot shot XR 512Gb, or SXR 1 or 2 TB drives. Max frame rates a demonstration piece titled “Flamenco” for RealD. recording RAW: 120 frames/sec in 16:9, 90 frames/sec The technique is to shoot digitally with 360° shut- in Open Gate 3.4k ter at 120 frames/sec or higher. Then post-process the images with RealD TrueMotion™ synthetic shutter Blackmagic Design software for any frame rate output (e.g., standard 24, URSA Mini Pro 4.6K - has a switchable lens mount: or any high frame rate). The color and metadata are EF, PL, and B4, with the B4 lenses shooting a win- untouched during this process. During the process dowed HD mode. With a S35 sensor, it records to SD or you select the synthetic shutter to render the motion CFast cards, in CinemaDNG RAW or ProRes formats, look best suited to your scene. The process can elimi- at up to 60 frames/sec in 4.6k RAW. nate judder in fast moving silhouetted objects moving Canon against bright backgrounds in HDR displays. There is C700 - S35 4K recording at 60p to CFast 2.0 cards the option to control the speed of apparent motion (sim- using the XF-AVC format. With the addition of a mod- ulate over- and under-cranking), create a speed ramp ule, it can record RAW data at 4k, 120 frames/sec to in a sequence, with a simulated constant shutter angle Codex solid state drives. throughout the speed change. You then output at the selected framerate, and the output images ready to pass Panasonic into existing editing and post production workflows. Cinema VariCam Pure - S35 4K/2K camera system, The process works with ProRes, H.264, ARRIRAW, dual ISO 800/5000, and built-in, uncompressed RAW ACES (EXR), DPX, and TIFF original file types. The up to 120 frames/sec, utilizing Codex solid state drives. output format is the same as the input format, with the color, contrast, latitude, metadata, etc. unchanged. Panavision Millennium DXL - VistaVision size sensor derived from High Dynamic Range Capture and Finishing the Red Epic W VistaVision, 8k resolution, 60 frames/sec In January, Dave Stump ASC went to Beijing China to max at 8k full frame, 75 frames/sec at 8k 2.41:1, Recording workshop the techniques of capture and DI finishing format Red RAW with simultaneous 4K proxy (ProRes or of High Dynamic Range Images for CCTV, the state DNx), Light Iron Color, 5 different series of Panavision run Chinese Television network. A week of training in large format lenses, spherical as well as anamorphic. both acquisition and post workflows provided a head start to Producers, Directors, Cinematographers and RED Digital Cinema Colorists as CCTV embarks on opening an HDR chan- Red Epic-W and Weapon 8K S35 - both with “Helium” nel for China. 8k Super-35 sensors, and the addition of ProRes and DNXhd recording codecs, in addition to Red Raw, join the DSMC2 family of cameras. The Weapon 8K S35 can shoot a maximum of 60 frames/sec at 8k resolu- Lens Committee tion. Red says that the current camera form factor will Co-chair: Michael McDonough, ASC, BSC remain until at least 2020. Co-chair: Jay Holben Sony The Lens Committee was formed in the fall of 2016 Sony showed many of their new developments including with Michael McDonough, ASC, BSC as its chair. Early upgrades to their F55, a new R7 recorder module that does members included Bill Bennett, ASC; Seth Emmons of 120 frames/sec 4K compressed raw, 2 new more efficient Leica; Tom Fletcher; Jay Holben; Chuck Lee of Fujifilm codecs, and XOCN (Extended Original Camera Negative). Optical Division; Snehal Patel of Zeiss Camera Lens

September 2017 | SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal 29 Division; Kish Sadhvani of StarKish Enterprises; and Close Focus Close Focus Illumination Dan Sasaki, VP of Optical Engineering, Panavision. Close Focus (m) (1´in˝) (f decimal) Circle (mm) Year / Decode Country of Origin Iris # elements # groups # aspherics The Committee’s first official meeting was held on

0.20 8˝ 0.67 43.3 2013 Japan 11 September 29 with a primary focus set to solidify its 0.36 12˝ 1.17 43.3 2012 Japan 11 0.36 12˝ 1.17 43.3 2012 Japan 11 0.46 1´6˝ 1.5 43.3 2012 Japan 11 mission statement: 0.97 3´2˝ 3.17 43.3 2012 Japan 11 The Lens Committee of the American Society of 0.99 3´3˝ 3.25 43.3 2013 Japan 11 0.30 1´ 1 43.3 1982 Japan 15 12 9 1 0.30 1´ 1 43.3 1982 Japan 15 10 8 1 Cinematographers is formed under the umbrella of the 0.30 1´ 1 43.3 1982 Japan 15 0.46 1´6˝ 1.5 43.3 1982 Japan 15 8 6 1 ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council and endeav- 0.91 3´ 3 43.3 1982 Japan 15 8 6 1 0.30 1´ 1 43.3 1978 Japan 15 12 9 1 0.30 1´ 1 43.3 1976 Japan 15 10 8 1 ors to: 0.30 1´ 1 43.3 1976 Japan 15 0.46 1´6˝ 1.5 43.3 1976 Japan 15 8 6 1 0.91 3´ 3 43.3 1976 Japan 15 8 6 1 ■ ■Further progress the artistic capabilities and expres- 0.30 1´ 1 43.3 1977 Japan 15 0.30 1´ 1 43.3 1973 Japan 15 10 8 1 0.30 1´ 1 43.3 1974 Japan 15 1 sion of Cinematographers with respect to lenses and 0.46 1´6˝ 1.5 43.3 1973 Japan 15 8 6 1 optical accessories; 0.91 3´ 3 43.3 1975 Japan 15 8 6 1 ■■Educate and inform our fellow Motion Imaging FIGURE 1. A sample of a small section of the database and information collected within. In this section, representing Canon Technology Council Committees, ASC members, cine lenses, the database not only lists the modern CN-E members of fellow societies, Cinematographers Cinema Primes, but the 1970s vintage K35s as well - also around the world, creatives, manufacturers and the making sure to detail the versions of K35s including the first public on the history, technology and creative appli- release which included thoriated glass. cations of the wealth of lenses from our past, present and future; They spent more than eighteen months laboriously researching the wealth of cine-style optics in the mar- ■■Become a forum for the exchange of ideas between cinematographers, ASC Motion Imaging Technology ketplace before bringing the project to the newly-formed Council Committees and lens manufacturers; Lens Committee and proposing a joint-project. Once ■■Formulate and encourage the development of indus- embraced by the Committee, the database was divided try-wide standards that all manufacturers can up among the manufacturers who were represented on embrace. the committee for verification and additional information. The database currently lists more than 2,400 cine- In these four objectives we strive to foster new dia- style optics along with as much technical information logue between lens professionals on all sides of the opti- can be gathered for each lens: Manufacturer; Original cal equation from manufacturer to end user. format designed for; Type (Prime or Zoom or Specialty); At the first meeting, McDonough nominated pro- Shape (Spherical or Anamorphic); Special identifiers: ducer/director, former cinematographer and long-time family name, model number, genealogy, attributes; contributor to American Cinematographer magazine, Focal length; f or T stop calibration; Maximum aper- Jay Holben, as the co-chair of the committee and the ture; Minimum aperture; Close focus distance (MOD) motion was quickly passed. The Committee has also (imperial & metric); Manufacturer stated image circle; rapidly grown to nearly fifty members including rep- Year/decade of introduction; Country of origin; Number resentatives from Arri, Anegnieux, Camtec, Canon, of iris blades; Number of glass elements; Number of Clairmont, Cooke, Duclos, Fujifilm, Keslow, Leica, glass groups; Number of aspherical lenses; Number of Panavision, Red and Zeiss in addition to some of today’s top optical engineers like Iain Neil and cinematogra- Front Front Filter MOUNT phers like Bill Bennett, ASC; Matty Libatique, ASC; Focus Focus Iris Zoom diameter Thread Length Weight MOUNT Mitchell Mechanism Rotation Rotation Rotation (mm) (mm) (Inches) (1b) PL MOUNT Panavision NC/BNCR Nancy Schreiber, ASC; Markus Foerderer, BVK; and others. 300 36 N/A 114 3.7 2.6 PL 300 36 N/A 114 4.0 2.65 PL Since the inaugural meeting, the duo-chairs have led 300 36 N/A 114 4.0 2.43 PL 300 36 N/A 114 4.0 2.43 PL 300 36 N/A 114 4.0 2.87 PL the committee through a trio of bi-monthly meetings 300 36 N/A 114 4.6 3 PL and set out several ambitious projects for the Committee Helical N/A 110 PL BNCR Helical N/A 80 PL BNCR Helical N/A 80 PL BNCR to tackle. Helical N/A 80 PL BNCR Helical N/A 80 PL BNCR

Helical N/A 110 BNCR Helical N/A 80 BNCR Comprehensive Cine Lens Database Helical N/A 80 BNCR Helical N/A 80 BNCR One of the first projects that the Committee has Helical N/A 80 BNCR Helical N/A 80 BNCR undertaken is the Comprehensive Cine Lens Database Helical N/A 80 BNCR Helical N/A 80 BNCR Helical N/A 80 BNCR (CCLDb). Originally started by Holben and Christopher Helical N/A 80 BNCR Probst, cinematographer and technical editor for th FIGURE 2. The database strives to catalog as much information as American Cinematographer magazine, for the 9 Edition possible that might be pertinent to an individual cinematographer. of the American Cinematographer Manual (2004), Holben This includes not only minimum object distance (close focus), but and Probst set out in early 2015 to expand and update the year and country of origin of the lens, which informs many aspects of its character. When possible the database goes as far as the approximately 1,000 lenses listed in the manual and to catalog the number of elements, aspherical elements and exotic expand each entry with more technical information. glass elements.

30 SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal | September 2017 exotic glass elements; Type of focus mechanism (cam on a similar project with their Image Circle Evaluation or helical); Focus rotation; Iris rotation; Zoom rotation; Box (ICE Box), a tool to visually record the full image Front diameter; Front filter thread diameter; Length circle (circle of good definition and extra covering power) (imperial & metric); Weight (imperial & metric); Any from any lens at every marked focal distance, aperture mounts available for the lens; Intelligent electronics; and zoom focal length (if applicable). The result is a Lists of films shot; and any special notes. It is a wealth visual depiction of the circle of illumination with super- of information, much of which cannot be easily found imposed reticles for any available camera sensor size and elsewhere. a small guide to indicate the diameter measurement of With the number of camera manufactures steer- the circle of illumination. It is then left to the cinematog- ing away from Super35-sized digital sensors towards rapher to determine if, based upon this visual informa- larger ones, the question often arises, ‘Will this par- tion, the lens will be appropriate for them to specifically ticular lens cover my large sensor?’ The CCLDb test for their needs. This visual database will be directly makes great strides towards answering this question linked to the ASC Comprehensive Cine Lens Database in a meaningful manner. First with the inclusion of so that cinematographers may look up any lens that is the extremely important ‘Manufacturer stated image cataloged with the system and learn about its full illumi- circle’ measurement information. This is, according to nation circle attributes. the manufacturer’s own terms, the image circle that As the digital cinema camera technology overtook the lens is intended to be used for. film technology for the primary origination methodol- The issue of image circle becomes increasingly com- ogy of motion pictures, more and more cinematogra- plex, however. To answer the deceptively simple ques- phers began shying away from modern high-end, sharp, tion, ‘Will this particular lens cover my large sensor?’ contrasty and high-resolution lenses for older, softer, one must break the query into several levels. The first less contrasty, less resolving-power lenses that helped level of the answer has to come from: is there any image the digital images feel more ‘filmic.’ This led to a resur- projected from the lens that will cover the entire rect- gence of ‘vintage’ cinema optics that had, literally, been angle of the image sensor in question. In other words, gathering dust in the deep, dark corners of rental houses is there a large enough circle of illumination from the for decades – some were only used as paperweights and lens to provide an image all the way across the sensor doorstops. Unfortunately these delicate, older lenses without black port-holing? cannot necessarily withstand the rigors of modern pro- The next level to the question is: how much illumina- duction with lens motors, high g-force camera operation is there to cover the edges of the larger sensor? Most tion and often punishing conditions of extreme weather. lenses have ‘extra covering power,’ that is an area of The CCLDb strives to catalog not only the original, the image circle, beyond the manufacturer-designated vintage, lenses, but those that have been rehoused to circle of good definition, where there is still illumina- be better suited to modern motion picture production. tion, albeit that the falloff or vignetting may darken that Some of the more esoteric bits of technical informa- area. How much darkening at the edges, compared to tion cataloged in the CCLDb may not be available for the center of the lens, is acceptable is completely up to all lenses. For instance, not every manufacturer readily the individual aesthetics of the cinematographer and offers the number of glass elements, groups, aspherical demands of a particular project or client. Additionally, surfaces and/or exotic glass elements in their products. the isotropic sampling structure of digital sensors tend To some cinematographers, however, this is pertinent to accentuate oblique angles of light and make the and valuable information. A common theory regarding vignetting of a particular lens more exaggerated than the three-dimensionality perspective of lenses, those would be seen with the more organic, anisotropic sam- which present the world with more depth cues, sur- pling of film emulsion. Further, the performance of any rounds the number of glass elements in the lens. The lens in resolving power, contrast and aberration control, fewer the elements, the more dimensionality a lens has. diminishes as the image approaches the fringe of the The more elements, the more flat the lens’ perspective optics. It is highly possible that there may be sufficient may be. Although actual optical design theory proves illumination at the edges of the extra covering power to this concept to only be somewhat valid, there are some cover a larger sensor, but that the performance of the cinematographers who seek out optics based, primar- lens may degrade substantially in this bonus area. How ily, on their number of elements. For a cinematographer to adequately measure and quantify the amount of extra looking for a high-performing, low-aberrant lens, infor- covering power and what might be acceptable for any mation on the number of aspherical surfaces and exotic given cinematographer or project demands is a hercu- glass elements is very key to their decision making. As lean effort. noted earlier, not every lens will have this particular Enter Duclos Lenses. Matt Duclos, son of optome- information listed for it, but the Committee endeavors chanical engineer Paul Duclos, is an active member of the to make it available for as many of the lenses in the data- Committee. The Duclos company has been embarking base as possible.

September 2017 | SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal 31 The ambitious goal of the CCLDb is to offer detailed technical data for any cinema-style lens that has ever been used on a film camera in the history of motion picture production. The Database will live on the ASC website and be a free service to the community and will continue to be updated and refined on a constant basis.

Smart Lens Metadata The second project undertaken by the Committee is the investigation into recommending standards regarding Smart Lens Metadata, the procurement of it, and the protocol by which it is presented to camera systems and carried on to post-production software tools. The two prevailing systems in today’s cinema mar- ketplace are the ARRI LDS (Lens Data System) and the Cooke /i system. The Committee is examining both systems to determine which might serve as a better industry-wide standard, if not a combination of both. Beyond a standard for the metadata at the lens side, there exists a serious need to coordinate with camera FIGURE 4. A shot of a new Zeiss CP.3 xD 50mm T2.1, the follow up manufacturers to more openly adopt this metadata as to the incredibly popular Zeiss CP.2 line. The xD version of the CP.3 part of their image files and to further coordinate with is the “Extended Data” incorporating the Cooke /i metadata system software engineers creating the post-production tools and incorporating open data cells to include lens-specific distortion and vignetting data that can be dialed out in post with the literal that will process and utilize this metadata. Far too often toggle of a menu option. The evolution of smart lens metadata the data exists, is recorded and then lost somewhere in leads us to a day when visual effects artists no longer have to shoot the production/post-production workflow and never distortion and shading tests for every lens used on a job. Zeiss has made that obsolete with the CP.3 internal data. reaches the artists who need it. The Committee will work to serve as a liaison between the lens manufac- 3 turers, camera manufacturers, software engineers and vignetting and distortion information. The Cooke /i end users to refine and standardize the optical metadata system is set to include this information as a standard, pipeline to aid in its incorporation into today’s visual in addition to other mappable lens characteristics such effects-laden productions. as chromatic aberration. With the right software plat- Currently, standard metadata includes: focus dis- form this feature allows visual effects artists to remove tance, aperture setting and zoom focal length, near and far focus ranges of depth of field and hyperfocal distance. Additional fields can be added and the new Zeiss CP.3 lenses utilize this additional data to incorporate dynamic

FIGURE 5. An inside look at the circuit board behind the Cooke /i FIGURE 3. A look inside a Zeiss CP.2 21mm T2.9 cine lens. This smart lens metadata. A series of sensor resistance elements detect actual lens, sliced on a bandsaw, exposes the intricacies of modern focus, iris and zoom ring positions and that information is processed optical and optomechanical design. through the internal circuitry and passed along to the camera.

32 SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal | September 2017 The Future Recently, additional topics have been brought to the Committee co-chairs for consideration: a look at stan- dardizing how lens focus witness marks are calibrated and engraved, and a look at a system of calibrating and quantifying the effects of various lens diffusion filters. Both topics will be discussed and evaluated as possible future projects at the next Committee meeting. Another lofty project proposes the concept of tracking specific lenses, by serial number, to some of the most influen- tial films in cinema history and being able to attribute a specific physical lens to a specific use by a great cinema- FIGURE 6. PL Mount i-connectors: The four connection points (gold tographer in cinema mythos. spherical contacts) on the back of a Cook /i smart lens. They are, Finally, one goal of the Committee is to help to edu- from left to right, power, data and power, data to the lens and data cate the other Motion Imaging Technology Council from the lens. The external interface operates at RS232 levels with standard communication in 8 bit data without parity, 1 stop bit, in Committees and the cinematography community, as ACSII format. a whole, on various aspects of lenses, optical design, lens characteristics and so forth. No formal decisions are yet made as to which topics will be first covered the shading and distortion at the literal touch of a but- by the Committee but some candidates are: measur- ton. There is no longer a need to shoot distortion charts ing lens resolving power against today’s digital sensor and map the lens’ natural fall off. This technology, when resolutions; understanding the out of focus image, what more widely adopted, will simplify the technical aspects makes up the lens bokeh; the pitfalls of utilizing lenses of visual effects lens interpretation and eliminate the need designed for film on today’s digital sensors, and more. for tedious testing of every lens’ individual characteristics.

Spherical Lens Day At the behest of ASC President Kees Van Oostrum, UHDTV Committee ASC, the Committee undertook the organization of a Spherical Lens Day on June 10th, 2017 at the American Chair: Don Eklund Society of Cinematographers clubhouse in Hollywood. Vice-Chair: Bill Mandel The event was open to all active and associate members 2nd Vice-Chair: David Reisner of the society and featured a mini trade-show environ- 2016 ended with activity around HDR continuing to ment where the major cine-optical manufacturers show- ramp up. 2017 may become a pivotal year in the tran- cased their products for the ASC cinematographers sition from HD 1920x1080 television to UHD “4K” present to experiment with and analyze. Included were 3840x2160 HDR television. The ITU completed the Angenieux, ARRI, Canon, Cooke, Fujifilm, Leica, BT.2100 specification in July of 2016 documenting Panavision, Vantage and Zeiss. An interior “set” was lit two baseband systems, one based on the Perceptual with live models to test many facets of the lenses con- Quantizer (PQ) transfer function, the other on Hybrid trast, resolution, sharpness, skintone reproduction, per- Log Gamma (HLG). Interest in HDR has widened spective, color fidelity, bokeh and flare characteristics. A across the motion picture and television industries, second, exterior set, focused on the same parameters for with a strong showing of HDR technology at CES and large format cameras - namely the Arri Alexa 65 and the Panavision DXL. In addition, the Committee invited the top lens rehousing companies: True Lens Service, GL Optics and P+S Technik to show their wares to the cinematographers. These companies are helping to revive old, lost lenses that have been gathering dust or fallen into ter- rible states of disrepair. Reinvigorating them with new, modern, optomechanical design, more robust housings, standardized sizes, gears and smooth operation – true vintage lenses like Bausch and Lomb Super Baltars, Kowa Prominars and larger image circle still lenses like Leica R and Hasselblad lenses are now available for use in the cinematography world and can seamlessly inte- FIGURE 7. Side by side demonstration of both BT.2100 HDR grate into today’s production demands. systems - PQ and HLG.

September 2017 | SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal 33 of 1000 cd/m2 (aka nits) now described in ITU technical report on HDR and also showed how the systems behave above and below that point. In April 2017 an HDR reference image shoot was per- formed at Sony Pictures on Stage 7 for the purpose of creating high quality reference images and video. The elements of the shoot included test charts, stained glass, a suit of armor, models and various lighting set-ups available in Stage 7. Cameras used included Sony and Fuji still cameras, a Sony F65, and an Arri Alexa. The time and contributions from many experts, including ASC Cinematographer Robert Primes, Sony, Arri and other members were highly appreciated. Through this effort, FIGURE 8. HDR reference image shoot (April 2017). images were produced using a variety of cameras for the purpose of exploring the limits of HDR capture and pro- NAB. Distribution of HDR content has broadened with viding additional reference footage to the industry. many titles available in UHD HDR on the Ultra HD As we explore the range of devices and software Blu-ray format. Distribution outlets and OTT provid- that are enabling advances in image reproduction, the ers like Amazon and Netflix are producing outstand- Committee continues to consider the preservation of ing examples of HDR programming with original series filmmaker creative intent to be our first priority programs that show how compelling images that use the The Committee plans to continue work in several areas: combination of resolution, dynamic range, color and frame rate can be. ■■Industry collaboration through testing, discussion Several organizations continue to influence the growth and demonstrations and adoption of UHD. The UHD Alliance has been cer- ■■Interoperability issues between devices and displays tifying premium televisions to their standards. The UHD ■■P3 color reproduction carried in BT.2020 color space Forum has been producing HDR production and work- with and without the use of metadata flow guideline documents and both organizations con- ■■Reference image creation and distribution to outside tinue to work on ensuring quality end user experiences organizations Since our last report, the Committee has continued ■■Evaluation of continually evolving display technologies its work to explore HDR technologies in distribution and how they perform with multiple content types. and capture and is working alongside other ASC Motion As the HDR display market expands, our Committee Imaging Technology Council Committees on Advanced will look for additional opportunities to provide a bridge Imaging, Digital Display, and Next Generation Cinema between the creative and consumer technologies. Display as interest in HDR expands. Filmmakers are Input to the group is welcome, provided that it showing an increased understanding of the implications can be shared on a non-confidential basis. Contact between brightness and dynamic range as they make [email protected]. use of expanded capabilities to support their aesthetic choices for narrative storytelling. Over the last several years, the Committee has put substantial effort into exploring color grading and other tools which are essen- Next Generation Cinema tial for working with the HDR canvas. For instance, we Display Committee have clearly seen that a properly calibrated and set up Co-Chair: Michael Karagosian monitor is required to evaluate how these decisions are Co-Chair: Eric Rodli being realized. Co-Chair: Steve Schklair In August 2016 the UHD Alliance solicited the assistance of the ASC, Blackmagic, Colorfront, Dolby The Next Generation Cinema Display Committee Laboratories, Sony, and Universal to provide a side by is concerned with satisfying the creative intent of side demonstration of both BT.2100 HDR systems - PQ filmmakers as new projection and display technolo- and HLG - for the technical committee meeting. gies emerge in cinema. The Committee has over 100 With thanks to Dolby and Sony for providing two members, representing all major projection technology Pulsar and two BVM-X300 monitors, and the ASC providers, the major studios, and the creative and tech- for the use of the ICAS 4K HDR content, an interest- nology leaders within the motion picture community, ing demonstration of format interchange and feature not just in the U.S. but around the world. Our goal is comparison of these baseband systems was made pos- to provide expert review and guidance in the aesthetics sible. This demonstration focused on the bridge point and presentation quality of the cinematic image.

34 SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal | September 2017 Advancements in display technologies hold great HDR cinema is not merely brighter images, or images promise in materially improving the theatrical experi- with higher contrast, but is best thought of as a com- ence, but can introduce problems in post-production, pletely new cinema format for storytelling. To nurture distribution, and exhibition. As one example, standard the format’s success requires a careful evaluation of the cinema operates with a minimum color gamut defined in parameters that determine artistic value and guide prod- SMPTE RP431-2, more commonly known as “DCI P3.” ucts and installations. To conduct this work requires a Newer projection and display technologies exhibit wider collection of appropriate and varied artistic content. At color gamut. But a wider minimum color gamut that the time of this writing, an evaluation is underway to can safely be used in post-production and distribution, review available materials. It is also important to extend at the time of this writing, still remains to be defined. this study beyond experts in the Hollywood community Similarly, the ability of next generation projectors and and into Europe and China. The ASC Motion Imaging displays to generate very high peak whites will become Technology Council has reached out to partners in both an important parameter as HDR emerges in cinema. regions for this purpose. Technology can introduce new challenges. RGB laser projectors to date have met the demand for more light and wider color gamut, but reports of speckle and meta- Advanced Imaging meric variability persist. Solutions for speckle include the methods of angle diversity, polarization diversity, Committee and wavelength diversity, but of these methods, only Chair: Gary Demos wavelength diversity will also reduce metameric issues. Vice-Chair: Jim Fancher In addition, projectors can be limited in peak light Vice-Chair: Bill Mandel output for HDR. To improve dynamic range, projec- Secretary: David Reisner tors with increased contrast are now available. Further improvements in projector peak luminance and contrast The gamut of most displays and projectors is defined by could materialize in the coming years based on tech- the meaning of Red, Green, and Blue wherein only one nologies under development. of the three primaries is nonzero. Typically this has been It is possible to achieve HDR, however, without a defined using “chromaticity” coordinates, x,y, which projector, using direct LED displays. One company, are specified using CIE 1931 color matching functions Samsung, has produced such a display for cinema, (CMFs). In addition, the “chromaticity” of neutral is receiving the DCI compliance rating for its “Cinema defined for Red, Green, and Blue all being nonzero and Display” product in May. The display demonstrated at equal. In television systems, historically this neutral Cinemacon 2017 was 10m wide, with 4K resolution, a has been D65 chromaticity, again defined using CIE color gamut wider than P3, and the ability to display 1931 CMFs. However, SMPTE defined a D-Cinema peak whites of 500 nits. Technologies such as this could “Whitepoint Gamut” wherein 14fl (= 48cd/m2 = 48 nits) herald the emergence of HDR in cinema. brightness can be achieved over a range of whitepoints As HDR finds its way into cinemas, it is unlikely that including D55, D60, and D65. the footprint will be uniform in display characteristics. D-Cinema has been defined as gamma 2.6 using It is well-known, for example, that 3D distributions are XYZ “tristimulus” values, which add brightness to tailored to multiple luminance levels, driven by limita- chromaticity (using 14fl as maximum). XYZ “tristimu- tions found in cinemas. HDR distributions could face lus” values are direct amounts of light integrated with a similar situation. The ASC would like to get in front CIE 1931 CMFs. Chromaticities are defined as x = X / of this by determining meaningful HDR peak white (X+Y+Z) and y = Y / (X+Y+Z). Chromaticities x, y thus levels, for example. To guide the evaluation of such represent color hue and color saturation, and tristimu- levels, this Committee published the “Cinema Display lus XYZ adds light energy amount as the brightness of Evaluation Plan & Test Protocol”, online at https://bit.ly/ that hue and saturation x, y. cinema-evaluation-plan. D-Cinema also defined “P3” chromaticities for Red, Other fundamental work is also needed with frame Green, and Blue primaries as a “minimum gamut”. rate for cinema HDR. Standard cinema productions are Conceptually this says that all projection (and presum- shot at 24 frames/sec. However, several studies demon- ably also all displays) will be able to represent the P3 strate that judder is exposed in 24 frames/sec motion gamut or more. Note that this is a necessary requirement pictures with high peak luminance. If cinema is going for practical use of the otherwise unlimited X,Y,Z, “tri- to move to higher frame rates to accommodate HDR, it stimulus” values at gamma 2.6. The P3 gamut has been would make sense to synchronize with the UHD stan- broadly used in post production, and is now appear- dards to eliminate conversion artifacts and simplify ing in consumer computer displays (including laptops). workflows. But the artistic requirements for cinema Note that Rec. 709 television mastering has historically could differ from home, which calls for an evaluation of used 100 nits maximum brightness, with somewhere frame rates for HDR cinema. around 5 to 10 nits at D65 for a neutral behind-screen

September 2017 | SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal 35 surround. A dim surround for television mastering dif- that broad spectrum colors no longer are accurately cre- fers from the dark surround of D-Cinema. ated by blending such narrow primaries. This is both a Hidden beneath this simple overview, many issues weakness of CIE 1931 on average, as well as a weakness exist that are not addressed that arise in practice. First due to individual variation and subtended angle variation of all, CIE 1931 is only approximate. CIE 170-1:2006 both being at their worst when using narrow primaries. generalized color matching using “cone fundamentals” P3 primaries strike a balance between spectral width that are parametrically variable as a function of age and and achievable gamut. This has proven workable in subtended angle of view. Even then, there remains indi- practice, in part because P3 primary emission spectra vidual variation compared to CIE 170-1:2006, which have typically been carefully designed. represents average color vision. If an alternative to P3 as a minimum gamut is con- Further, color appearance varies based upon viewing sidered, such alternative should similarly be evaluated conditions, including the surround behind the screen, with respect to achievable spectral power distribution persistence of vision from what was on screen previ- vs. metameric functionality. ously, absolute brightness, and a dozen other factors. If we assume that P3 is the minimum gamut, we Of immediate concern is that appearance affects apply have access to a number of professional and consumer to high dynamic range (HDR) to a greater degree than computer displays that we can utilize. By ensuring that with standard dynamic range (SDR) images. This is dra- the P3 gamut boundary is defined by the range limits matically illustrated by the example of rhodopsin cone of red, green, and blue, we are able to see every color bleaching on the retina due to prolonged viewing of bright within gamut on our reference display. images. It takes time for the cone pigments to replenish, However, the issue of minimum range remains. and color vision is gradually changing as this happens. Further, range is greatly affected by the brightness of Consumer computer displays (including laptops) the ambient surround. Essentially, apparent contrast now have sufficient brightness (e.g. 500 nits) to be con- increases with surround brightness (known as the sidered high dynamic range. Stevens effect). As surround brightness goes up, mid- There is also currently a challenge with the HDR grey appears darker. As surround brightness goes down, standardization and use of SMPTE ST 2084/PQ and mid-grey appears brighter. Mid-grey appears brightest BT.2020 gamut, in that there is no accompanying “min- in dark surround, such as D-Cinema. imum max. brightness” (for ST 2084/PQ) nor “mini- Note that the dark range appearance of shadow areas mum gamut” (for BT.2020). There is also no “highest on screen is also affected by the ambient surround. allowed dark level” (for ST 2084/PQ) to indicate the A high ambient surround masks a high onscreen black. dark end of the brightness range. We therefore have two appearance factors affecting The P3 “minimum gamut” has served a valuable role dynamic range which require attention. One is the abso- in D-Cinema, and is a de facto candidate to be a mini- lute range of brightness and darkness, and the other is mum gamut for wide color gamut mastering and distri- the ambient surround level. These must be considered bution. Note, however, that it is unwise to specify a P3 both with respect to mastering reference viewing, as gamut without an associated whitepoint. For example, well as for proper reproduction of creative intent on the D65 cannot be assumed, due to the widespread use of distributed image during presentation. D60 as the P3 gamut whitepoint. A simple nomencla- It is obvious that there is no adequate single display- ture such as P3_D65 or P3_D60 solves this problem. referred representation for an HDR master. This implies Note that a greenish whitepoint at x=.314 y=.351 is that a suitable master must not be display-referred, but used as “DCI-P3” calibration whitepoint. Care must be rather must reside in some neutral form. Experiments taken that this whitepoint not be used for actual neu- utilizing a scene-referred neutral form have worked tral during mastering nor presentation. It would prob- well. However, any suitable neutral form and accompa- ably be helpful if this greenish whitepoint were removed nying parametric processing could be utilized. from the DCI and P3 specifications, due to ongoing The parametric processing should attempt to com- associated problems and confusion. pensate for the more prominent appearance factors. The BT.2020 gamut utilizes primaries defined on These should probably include “colorfulness” (the Hunt the spectrum locus of the CIE 1931 chromaticity dia- effect), ambient surround compensation (the Stevens gram. At any point on the spectrum locus, however, effect), and compensation for the difference between there is an implicit monochromatic (i.e. laser-like) wave- mastered brightness range and presented brightness length. For BT.2020, these are specified as a dual with range. These should all be designed to create a consis- the corresponding chromaticities being red=630nm, tent reproduction of the mastered appearance, despite green=532nm, blue=467nm. This clarifies the weak- the wide range of differences likely found in presenta- nesses of CIE 1931 CMF’s. However, any CMF’s will tion devices. have low accuracy when blending amounts of these pri- One might consider masters at 250 nits, 500 nits, maries, due to “metameric failure”. This simply means and 1000 nits, made in versions for bright and for dim

36 SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal | September 2017 surround. Dark surround may not be appropriate at HDR brightnesses of 250 nits and higher due to inher- Motion Imaging Workflow ent viewing discomfort at such high brightness in dark surround. Committee To master and distribute content that will display with Chair: Greg Ciaccio intended artistic intent, the implicit choice is either mul- Vice-Chair: Tim Kang tiple versions or parametric appearance compensation. Vice-Chair: George Joblove The presentation display and its environment contain the information necessary to either drive the parametric Current Committee focus: ACES Education and ASC Website Section appearance processing, or select among multiple ver- For the last few years, the ASC Motion Imaging sions (assuming multiple versions are available). Technology Council’s Motion Imaging Workflow There has been substantial recent effort in pursuit Committee has continued to focus on helping to edu- of the reproduction of intended appearance. Most of cate and guide industry professionals on ACES ben- the required processing steps have working examples efits parallel with efforts by the AMPAS Science and at this point. With these processing steps, much of the Technology Council. In addition, the new ASC website required mastering methodology and accompanying will feature a section devoted to ACES. parametric appearance compensation processing can The Committee is composed of key individuals in be demonstrated. a variety of positions involved in production and post, Next steps include further refinement and testing, as who provide valuable real-world feedback. Frequently, well as additional discussion and exploration of feasible prominent cinematographers attend and contribute deployment strategies. It is hoped that the fundamen- with fresh perspective. tal nature of the issues discussed here will help to cre- Since the introduction of ACES v.1.0, a significant ate interest in finding a path forward in pursuit of the number of productions have used ACES. A fairly com- consistent presentation of creative intent in our rapidly prehensive list can be found here: changing industry. http://www.imdb.com/search/title?colors=aces Our Committee continues to work in conjunction with the AMPAS Sci-Tech Council and has created a Professional Display clear definition of ACES: The Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) is Committee becoming the industry standard for managing color Chair: Jim Fancher throughout the life cycle of a motion picture or tele- Vice-chair: Gary Mandle vision production. From image capture through editing, VFX, mastering, public presentation, archiving Working closely with the Advanced Imaging and future remastering, ACES ensures a consistent Committee, the Professional Display Committee has color experience that preserves the filmmaker’s cre- been investigating best practices for surround lighting ative vision. In addition to the creative benefits, ACES during mastering and critical viewing. In our work with addresses and solves a number of significant produc- characterizing professional displays it became apparent tion, post-production and archiving problems that have that old standards for surround lighting were not appro- arisen with the increasing variety of digital cameras and priate for High Dynamic Range (HDR) displays. We formats in use, as well as the surge in the number of have been in touch with SMPTE and will be investigat- productions that rely on worldwide collaboration using ing the recommendations in ST 2080-3. In addition to shared digital image files. bringing the Committee up to date on emerging display The upcoming new ASC website (at the time of this technologies, we have also participated in several dem- writing) will include an ACES section comprised of gen- onstrations of HDR displays. eral and Cinematographer-centric ACES information,

Specify Create or apply Specify camera type an intended look output type MONITOR

A CAM IMAGE

PROJECTION

B CAM IMAGE ON SET DIT, EDITING, VFX, OR COLOR GRADING SOFTWARE

FIGURE 9. Basic ACES Workflow.

September 2017 | SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal 37 testimonials, case studies and current highlights. Given the expansions into wider color gamuts and A forum has been established to allow for ACES dis- the much larger number ranges of representations like cussion and collaboration, and has been instrumental OpenEXR in ACES, there is probably a good argument in functioning as a central repository for our indus- for a new saturation function. We will keep the existing try. This forum, ACES Central, can be found here: Sat() function and add a new Sat2() function to address www.acescentral.com. The ASC’s ACES site will these uses. We are still evaluating the appropriate defi- include a link to ACES Central. nition for Sat2(). With so many new imaging advances being intro- There continue to be some calls for six-axis color duced concurrently (increases in spatial resolution, correction. While during original introduction of dynamic range, color gamut, etc.), it is vital to faith- the ASC CDL color correction system manufactur- fully process and preserve creative intent by making ers were NOT willing to implement a new six-axis sure that no bits are lost along the way. This is espe- correction, it may now be possible that, if we pro- cially important now as interest in high-dynamic range vide the specific desired math, they may be will- (HDR) imagery has taken center stage, requiring a ing to include the implementation. People who call standard which can not only accommodate the extra for six-axis usually do not have the combination of range needed, but can more easily produce the numer- color science, math, and hands-on experience to ous versions needed for new and legacy displays of vary- understand the strength and capability of imple- ing brightness capabilities. mentation required. We tried implementing fixed As ACES user experiences are shared within our six-axis correctors and they didn’t actually meet col- industry, the practical benefits are being realized. At orists’ desires, but providing additional options and least one major studio has expressed great interest in refinement makes six-axis complicated for an on- integrating ACES into their production and post pipe- set tool. Since that experiment, the DI Committee lines as the benefits of ACES have been realized in has created and tested several approaches for a full, cost & time savings, as well as in archival. parametric six-axis corrector. We will revisit these More information regarding ACES is available at issues in a wide color gamut, High Dynamic Range, http://www.oscars.org/aces floating-point / ACES world. Aside from implementation issues, we must cau- tion our user base that parametric six-axis correction is a power so great that it can only be used for Good… Digital Intermediate or Evil. It is very simple to take an image to com- Committee pletely unrecoverable places, at which point you will be intensely glad that the ASC CDL is a non-destructive Co-chair: Joshua Pines system. Co-chair: David Reisner Once the metadata and Sat2() issues are addressed, As all are well aware, the ASC CDL (American Society we will at long last take the ASC CDL to SMPTE of Cinematographers Color Decision List) is very well RDD (Registered Disclosure Document). An RDD established and nearly universally used. Part of this is will serve most of the functions of a Standard, but not due to its utility, part the cleanliness and simplicity of require an open negotiation about the ASC CDL’s its design, and part is due to the ASC CDL’s stability. definition – keeping control within the ASC Motion As such, we are reluctant to make changes without sig- Imaging Technology Council DI Committee. nificant motivation and consideration. To get the current ASC CDL specification, send an But after extensive discussion and consideration, e-mail to [email protected]; an auto-responder will at this point, the Committee has decided there are send terms and instructions. For additional information a few areas where enhancements that are consistent about the ASC CDL or Digital Intermediate Committee, with the original design and whose implementation contact Joshua Pines at [email protected] or David is not disruptive may be warranted. There are also Reisner at [email protected]. a few more disruptive changes or additions being considered. There have been clear needs for additional metadata, Plenoptic Committee particularly some extension of the mechanism for con- Co-chair: David Reisner necting shots and corrections. Although provided for in Co-chair: Joshua Pines v1.01 and largely ignored, there is (finally) an interest in metadata documenting shooting and viewing trans- The word “plenoptic” means “Of or relating to all the forms used before and after the ASC CDL. We will light, travelling in every direction in a given space.” The rehabilitate this area with substantially expanded guid- most general form, a Light Field camera, attempts to ance on usage, and provide a few extensions. record the intensity, direction, and possibly phase of

38 SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal | September 2017 all the light that hits its imager. From that data, many part of that exploration will be how the business and versions of the image can be computed – various focal production process can accommodate the quite differ- lengths, depths of field, effective angles of view, sorting ent distribution of need for cinematographer time in a or layering of objects by position. Obviously recording project. Cinematographers are the key authors of image and manipulating that collection of data requires very look and creative intent. In the plenoptic types of pro- different storage formats and manipulation techniques duction, many of those decisions will be made at much than do traditional 2D camera data. later points in the project, and with a dangerously large Although full Light Field is rather a specialty flexibility. Cinematographer involvement will be needed approach, being pursued by only a small number of through production and post to ensure that a creative companies, and with integration into production proce- vision and “art” is realized. dures and workflows only just starting to be explored, In this rapidly changing world, we believe this pow- point cloud imaging, depth imaging, and things like erful technology will almost certainly have impact on Virtual Reality cameras and other techniques for cap- our industries. The ASC Motion Imaging Technology turing very wide or 360-degree surround imaging have Council and the ASC Membership will keep actively related needs for storage formats and manipulation abreast of and involved in developments and (when techniques. funding and equipment are available) testing, to help These types of imaging are dependent on the easy guide these new techniques toward results that will sup- availability of high quality, and hopefully moderately port the filmmaker’s creative vision and provide satisfy- priced, digital imagers. And critically dependent on ing audience experiences. both high bandwidth and high capacity storage systems, and on anywhere from large to exceptional amounts of computing power. Both storage and compute are increasingly available in the Cloud from sources like Joint Technology Committee Google and Amazon, and in stand-alone hardware from companies like Nvidia and others. on Virtual Production The Plenoptic Committee will participate in address- ing all of these issues in the context of entertainment imaging. We will especially work to make sure that the needs of feature motion pictures are addressed in Chair: David Morin other industry work, and also contribute to education Co-Chair: John Scheele about and awareness of high quality imaging for mobile devices and other delivery devices. Over the period since the last SMPTE report, the Joint The Plenoptic Committee was formed in response to Committee on Virtual Production of the ASC contin- a liaison request from the ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG1 ued its series of case studies on the broadening use of JPEG Pleno Working Group. realtime computer graphics on set. “JPEG Pleno is a project encompassing future image representations that will move beyond the traditional planar Case Study: “The Jungle Book” image representations. These non-planar representations can The eleventh meeting of the VPC was held on include omnidirectional, depth enhanced, light fields and Wednesday December 14th at the flagship Dolby point cloud imagery. JPEG is taking a holistic approach to Cinema Vine Theatre, located at 6321 Hollywood Blvd, cover the entire content workflow from capture, production, Los Angeles, CA 90028. post-production and rendering. … JPEG is interested in use Our meeting #11 featured the definitive case study cases and requirements for the cinematic and broadcast pro- on the virtual production of the motion picture “The duction environments in order to meet the needs of potential Jungle Book”. The case study was led by Rob Legato, customers in those fields.” ASC, who architected the virtual production workflow This is very new and not widely available technol- and was visual effects supervisor, second unit director ogy. We have some cinematographer members who and second unit DOP on the movie. Joining Rob were have experience with these types of imaging, but so Director Jon Favreau, Producer Brigham Taylor, and far only a few. It is a good sign that the technology- Animation Director Andy Jones. oriented standards groups are seeking input from the For the occasion, we saw excerpts from the movie community of artists who would ultimately be respon- in Dolby Cinema with Dolby Vision High Dynamic sible for creative and artistic use of these technologies Range laser projection in 3D, augmented with 38 Dolby and techniques. ATMOS speakers, in a special color grade done specifi- As resources are made available, we will be happy to cally for Dolby Cinema release. participate in exploration of these techniques. In addi- Additionally, the “Gnomes & Goblins” Virtual tion to technical and artistic, one critically important Reality Experience, also directed by Jon Favreau,

September 2017 | SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal 39 FIGURE 10. Directed by Jon Favreau, “The Jungle Book” tells the story of a man-cub named Mowgli who embarks on a journey of self- discovery with the help of panther Bagheera and free spirited bear Baloo, after a threat from the tiger Shere Khan forces him to flee the jungle. http://movies.disney.com/the-jungle-book-2016 - With only one child actor as live action element, extensive previsualization and on-set visualization were needed to realize this “live action” remake of the classic animated movie. was available for attendees to experience prior to of the art collaborative virtual production system for the meeting. You can find more information about that movie. “Gnomes and Goblins” here - https://drive.google.com/ open?id=0B6BP7N9l3-Z4aEZGb0F2Q0JmNEk. The Virtual Production Track at FMX 2017 For the sixth year in a row, Virtual Production commit- The discussion that followed “The Jungle Book” tee chair David Morin curated the “Virtual Production presentation was of great interest, and a prime example Track” at FMX2017 in Stuttgart, Germany. The track of the value that can be derived from our committee showcased nine case studies that took place on May 4th meetings, as members of “The Lion King” production and May 5th 2017. The presentations covered the use of who were in the audience (namely producer Jeff Silver previsualization and virtual production in the follow- and cinematographer Caleb Deschanels, ASC) engaged ing films: “Logan”, “Warcraft”, “Allied”, “Deadpool”, in a conversation with “The Jungle Book” team about “Ghost in The Shell”, “Doctor Strange”, “Beauty and their upcoming production. the Beast”, and “Rogue One”. More details on the Subsequently, “The Jungle Book” team joined “The program can be accessed here - http://www.fmx.de/ Lion King” team and are now together building a state program2017/list?t=687.

Brigham Taylor Jon Favreau Rob Legato Andy Jones Producer Director VFX Supervisor Animation Supervisor FIGURE 11. Above: presenters at meeting #11 of VPC that took place on December 14th 2016.

40 SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal | September 2017 VIRTUAL PRODUCTION at FMX 2017 May 4th and 5th 2017, Stuttgart, Germany

FIGURE 12. A series of six case studies on virtual reality for production were presented in Stuttgart, Germany on May 4th and 5th 2017

Future Activities the development and production of the Jaunt ONE VR The Virtual Production Committee will continue to pur- camera engineered by Koji Gardiner, and the VR film sue its goal of educating and helping define the new work- “Under The Canopy” directed by Patrick Meehan. The flow, and is currently planning its meeting #12 for late first meeting was attended by about 60 people. 2017. Meeting 12 will be the last in the cycle of 12 case The presentations were followed by a lively discus- studies that we set out to do when we created the VPC in sion about what remains to be done to develop the new 2010. Accordingly, we plan to reassemble most of the pre- cinematic VR medium, and how cinematographers can senters from previous meetings in a substantial day-long learn about it. Multiple workgroup ideas were presented, conference that will celebrate the transition of virtual pro- and at this time a workgroup on VR terminology is under duction from “the age of the pioneers” to a more affordable way, led by Evan Goldberg from Walt Disney Animation toolset available to all filmmakers, thanks to development Studios, along with a workgroup on cinematic VR produc- in the new emerging field of virtual reality. tion, led by past president of the ASC Michael Goi, ASC. Participation is encouraged. Those interested may con- Subsequently, Michael Goi agreed to become vice- tact: David Morin, Chair, [email protected]. chair of the VR Committee, along with Mike Sanders John Scheele, Co-Chair, [email protected]. from Activision.

Joint Technology Committee on Virtual Reality

Chair: David Morin Vice-Chair: Michael Goi, ASC Vice-Chair: Mike Sanders, Activision FIGURE 13. The Joint Technology Committee on Virtual The first meeting of the VR Committee was held Reality (the VR Committee) ASC Motion Imaging Technology Wednesday January 11th 2017 at Jaunt Studios in Santa Council in 2016 with the mandate to explore the role of the cinematographer in the creation of virtual reality experiences. Monica, CA, and featured a case study of cinematic The International Cinematographers Guild joined the committee VR projects developed by the team at Jaunt, including shortly after its inception.

September 2017 | SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal 41 hardware, software, and test methodologies in place Digital Archive Committee and working, even if in initial form. ■■Once we know the exact requirements for this testbed Chair: Garrett J. Smith (hardware, software, physical layout, personnel, etc.), The ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council Digital proceed with a trial setup here in Los Angeles. Archive Committee continues to examine the pros and ■■Demonstrate the proposed test procedures and meth- cons of today’s evolving storage methodologies - nearly odologies to this Working Group, then to industry a decade after the Academy’s Digital Dilemma report. partners, and to various content distributors, with the Nearly every use case from the most independent film actual hardware and (initial) software that will be to the biggest of studio tent poles indicates that there is used – to receive feedback and suggestions, but also no consensus on the best way to archive digital data. to make concrete not just the concepts and motiva- We are committed to examining everything from tion behind these tests, but their actual capabilities hard drives, optical media, cloud and even digital 35mm and potential benefits. black and white storage solutions. (Yes, more than one In that way, we hope to gain additional buy-in and studio still creates 35mm YCM’s and there have been participation among all of the parties that are interested presentations to the committee on two different ‘digital in these studies, when we do the actual evaluations. data on film’ solutions.) Unfortunately, not long after that meeting, there We also plan to schedule presentations on all flavors of appeared a series of roadblocks that halted progress – cloud and hybrid cloud archiving in the upcoming year. financial issues, limitations of then available technol- In the last 100 years of our industry, we have faced ogy, institutional reluctance, and availability of the such unexpected issues as ‘vinegar’ and ‘gunpowder’ needed people, among others. threatening the life of our images. In today’s data stor- Many of these hurdles have recently either been age world we now have to learn about the effects on our removed or mitigated. elements of things like: “coercivity and residual magnetism On the technology front, for current GMR (Giant MagnetoResistance) and SMR (Shingled MagnetoResistance) recording techniques” – to ■■There are now high-end plug-in adapter cards (with name a few. the appropriate daughter cards) and external adapt- It is obvious that our industry is in a state of fluctua- ers available that can drive 4K HDR reference moni- tion for the foreseeable future. The ASC Motion Imaging tors with 12-bit SMPTE 2084/PQ-encoded HDR Technology Council strives to help deal with the dynam- data at the high data rates required, over quad ics of an ever evolving landscape in order to preserve our 3G-SDI at up to 30 frames/sec. Supported software images as intended by the artists for decades and longer. to drive them is now available. (Going beyond that still requires dropping down to lower bit depths and sub-sampled color. And the vagaries of the HDMI protocol renders that interface unusable for our pur- SSIMWave HDR Evaluation poses. Discussions with vendors are on-going to Working Group remove these interface limitations.) ■■There are now NVMe SSD drives with adequate Coordinator: W. Thomas Wall capacity that can reliably provide data at those very Despite a lapse in activity since the last report, this high sustained rates (without requiring very expen- effort is again alive and very active: sive external RAID arrays). At a Working Group meeting a year ago, a range of ■■GPUs are now available with the capability of driving plans and issues were discussed to accomplish the study of: 12-bit color pipelines that were not previously available, with interface connections that can support ■■how well the original creative intent of cinematogra- that data throughput. phers and colorists is preserved in the delivery of ■■Motherboards and workstations are available that High Dynamic Range, Wide Color Gamut material support PCIe gen 3 with adequate lanes and suffi- to consumer devices cient physical space for our needs. ■■whether the SSIMWave SSIMPlus perceptual quality metric software reflects what DPs and colorists see, Although still requiring a high-end PC for our tests, when applied to HDR, WCG material. it is now feasible to construct such systems without requiring a bank-breaking investment. Which in turn The resulting overall plan was simple (in principle): means it is now feasible to ask for support and help from ■■Set up an initial version of the actual testbed and industry partners to provide such systems during our test environment that will be required for this evalu- testing. Discussions have begun with HP, NVIDIA, and ation, at Dr. Zhou Wang’s visual studies laboratory Blackmagic Design, among others, to provide those sys- at the University of Waterloo, Canada – with all tems for our study testbeds in Los Angeles.

42 SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal | September 2017 ■■And finally, new HDR reference monitors have top boxes – lessons learned in the setup of their new appeared and become more available outside of large study, as well common hardware and software post-production facilities. required, will help in developing our evaluation of the delivery of HDR as evaluated by experienced Current status DPs and colorists. First, we now have expanded participation from the University of Waterloo: In regards to test material, in addition to the ASC’s Dr. Wang’s laboratory at the University of Waterloo ICAS files: has recently received a grant to fund their efforts. This ■■We have obtained permission from Netflix to use the has allowed several positive developments, including: original ACES-SMPTE 2065 graded master of Cur- ■■In addition to SSIMWave’s Dr. Abdul Rehman and tis Clark, ASC’s film-noir short “Meridian”, shot and Dr. Kai Zeng and their staff, graduate students in graded for HDR, along with three SMPTE 2084/ Dr. Wang’s visual studies program will now be devot- PQ-encoded and compressed HDR versions that ing time to this study. We have been making progress Netflix previously released publicly for test purposes. educating them in the differences between the needs We therefore now have the first complete set of files and characteristics of digital cinema vs. those of stan- needed for this study: an original, “as approved” graded dard Rec. 709 “video”. master in linear ACES openEXR format, and three ■ ■Their University of Waterloo Visual Studies lab has “as delivered” examples of that same master file after now acquired a Canon DP-V2420 1200 nit, 4K HDR being transcoded, encoded and compressed to varying reference monitor, for accurately displaying PQ- levels for distribution to Netflix customers at different encoded HDR WCG material. bit rates. ■■After a series of tests, they have recently obtained a [[I’ve seen that ACES graded master of Meridian in Blackmagic UltraStudio 4K Extreme capable of driv- a grading theatre on a Sony BVM-X300 HDR reference ing that reference monitor at the maximum data rate monitor – it’s stunning!]] it can currently display. (During a process of inevita- ble trial and error with hardware and software from ■■Andy Maltz and Alex Forsyth have agreed to allow us various vendors, the staff has been working with to use the Motion Picture Academy’s ACES Next Canon – and with the considerable help and support Generation Cinema Technology reference files in our of Mark Thompson and Sean Manton at Blackmagic tests. Design, and input from experts such as Gary Demos, ■■Don Eklund and the UHDTV Display Committee of as well as others – to get this reference monitor work- the ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council have ing at its full potential, as needed for this study – shot reference test material specifically aimed at eval- which, it turns out, is at the bleeding edge of current uating HDR display. They are in the process of final technology to achieve. But with the hard work of all color grading. We are working with him and his of the above, progress is being made.) Committee in that effort. ■■A computer system capable of driving these displays ■■We are also investigating the use of HDR test materi- in our tests is being put together and tested. al from Joe Kane – some of which is specifically ■■Work has begun on the custom software required for designed to both highlight and stress the display of the simultaneous, synchronized display of such imag- HDR, WCG images at resolutions up to 8K. With ery on two reference monitors as required for this the help of Jerome Dewhurst and others at Round- study. about Entertainment, we are obtaining graded ACES ■■In addition to this ASC Motion Imaging Technology 2065-1 AP0 versions for our study. Council Working Group’s study, Dr. Wang and his ■■The Next Generation Cinema Display sub-committee team have also initiated a study of HDR as viewed on of the ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council has consumer UHD HDR television sets. He and his stu- begun actively seeking test material for evaluating the dents and researchers understand the huge challeng- latest HDR, WCG cinema display technologies. es involved in that, but feel the urgency of establish- Co-chair Michael Karagosian is actively working with ing scientific standards regarding the viewing of us to assemble a joint repository of such test material HDR, WCG material. Although more directly related with all of the characteristics required to fully explore to the work of the ASC Motion Imaging Technology those capabilities, and to make it available to the Council’s UHDTV Display Committee – which is industry at large. actively involved in such evaluation of how cinema- More industry partners have expressed interest in quality HDR imagery is displayed on the various cooperating in this study. For example: brands and technologies of consumer HDR displays – than this Working Group’s study – which is not ■■Thanks to Jerome Dewhurst at Roundabout Enter- concerned with evaluations of consumer TVs or set tainment, Roundabout has agreed to work with our

September 2017 | SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal 43 Committee, and host testbeds for our evaluation once David Reisner received the 2014 that is finalized. They join FotoKem, EFilm/Deluxe, Academy Technical Achievement and Sony that have previously expressed their interest Award and the 2014 Hollywood in working with us. Post Alliance Judges Award ■■We are in discussions with Michael Cioni at Light for Creativity and Innovation. Iron/Panavision for possible use of HDR test material He was recognized in the 2012 used by Panavision with their new DXL camera. Primetime Emmy Engineer- So, bottom line: ing Award as a Co-Designer of There is still lots to do. But we are again making the ASC CDL, now used al- progress toward performing this study of the delivery most universally in the workflow of HDR, WCG narrative imagery, as evaluated by expe- of motion pictures, scripted TV, and visual effects rienced professionals, and how it can be objectively as turn over. He was a Lead Designer of the ASC-DCI well as subjectively evaluated. StEM Standard Evaluation Material that was used Inquiries regarding the ASC Motion Imaging to determine the quality required for the deploy- Technology Council should be sent to Delphine Figueras: ment of digital cinema. He was the Vice-Chair of the [email protected] SMPTE Working Groups responsible for the digital cinema imaging and security standards. Over 97% About the Authors of cinema screens worldwide now use digital cinema. Curtis Clark, ASC, studied Reisner also had leading roles in activities includ- theater at the Art Institute of ing design and production of the ASC-Producers Chicago’s Goodman School of Guild of America (PGA) CAS Camera Assessment Drama and Cinematography at Series and elements of the ACES. He made one of the London Film School. He the first proposals for the Virtual Print Fee model began his career by shooting and used to fund the digital cinema rollout. Reisner’s directing documentary films in “firsts” include programmable portable computers, Britain before transitioning to the handheld video jukebox, and VLIW computer ar- shooting feature films and TV chitecture—one of the enablers of modern multipro- commercials in Britain and the cessor computing. He made early contribution to the US. Following the success of introduction of neural networks—the basis of mod- his short film, The Arrival, Clark then completed his ern AI and Machine Learning. He has shot celebrity highly praised short film Eldorado. He recently com- and fashion for books and magazines including Vogue pleted his latest short film, Meridian (Netflix), a cre- Italia, produced concerts internationally, and trªined atively accomplished work that has already gained the killer whales. Reisner is well published in books, status of an essential demonstration for HDR imag- technical articles, and has spoken widely, including ing. Clark is the Chairman of the ASC Motion Im- manned space exploration at the 2014 International aging Technology Council and a current member of Space Development Conference. He is a member of the ASC Board of Governors. Since its inception in SMPTE; the founding Secretary of the ASC Motion 2003, the Committee under Clark’s leadership has Imaging Technology Council and an ASC Associate; achieved a series of notable successes including its a Member of the Visual Effects Society; and Chairs collaborative work with DCI, LLC (DCI) to produce committees for the Academy Scientific and Techni- standardized evaluation material for assessing the cal Awards. performance of digital projectors and other elements of DCI standards-based digital cinema systems, as David Stump, ASC, is a work- well as the 2009 Camera Assessment Series and 2012 ing DP, visual effects DP, visual Image Control Assessment Series. The ASC Motion effects supervisor, and stereogra- Imaging Technology Council, at Clark’s instigation, pher, earning an Emmy Award, embarked on the development of a groundbreaking an Academy Award for Scien- project to create cross-platform data exchange for tific and Technical Achievement, primary RGB digital color correction known as the and an International Cinema- ASC CDL. The ASC CDL was recognized by the tographers Guild Award. He is Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with a pres- currently the Chairman of the tigious 2012 Primetime Emmy Engineering Award. Camera Committee of the ASC Clark also received an AMPAS Technical Achieve- Motion Imaging Technology Council and a mem- ment Award recognizing his work developing the ber of the AMPAS Science and Technology Council, ASC CDL. Clark was a recipient of the prestigious where he chairs the Next Generation Cinema Tech- ASC Presidents Award. nology Work Group and participates in the AMPAS

44 SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal | September 2017 ACES project. Under his guidance, the combined Jay Holben is an independent efforts of the PGA and the ASC produced both the director, producer, and formerly ASC-PGA Camera Assessment Series and the ASC- a cinematographer for more than PGA ICAS, which are side-by-side comparisons of a decade. A lead contributor to virtually all of the high-end digital cinema cameras American Cinematographer maga- against film. He has lectured and taught classes in zine, former technical editor for cinematography and visual effects and has spoken Digital Video magazine and lighting at many conferences and trade shows, including the columnist for TV Technology maga- National Association of Broadcasters and the Interna- zine, Holben is the author of two tional Broadcast Convention. books on cinematography: A Shot in the Dark and Behind the Lens. He is an international lec- Bill Bennett, ASC, has been turer on the subject and the Co-Chair of the ASC Motion a cinematographer for over Imaging Technology Council Lens Committee. 35 years, primarily shooting television commercials for hundreds Don Eklund serves as the Chief of major clients: Ford, Lexus, Technology Officer for Sony Pic- Coca Cola, Apple Computer, tures Entertainment. He has helped American Airlines, McDon- launch multiple consumer enter- alds, and Budweiser. Bennett tainment formats since starting his had the great honor of being the career at Sony. He codeveloped and first cinematographer, with a career consisting of pri- staffed the operation that launched marily shooting television commercials, to be invited DVD at Sony Pictures and went to join the American Society of Cinematographers. In on to oversee the development 2016, the ASC presented Bennett with the President’s of software tools and hardware systems which supported compression, authoring, and Award at the 30th annual ASC Awards Show. He is quality control for Blu-ray. Eklund participates in a number currently serving as the Vice President at ASC. Ben- industry standards organizations and consortiums, which nett often advises ARRI, Zeiss, and others on equip- focus on next generation entertainment. ment design. Bill Mandel is Vice President Michael McDonough, ASC, Industry Relations at Samsung BSC, is a writer, director, produc- Research America, represent- er, and cinematographer. He stud- ing Samsung in various industry ied fine art at The Glasgow School groups on topics of HDR, work- of Art for undergraduate and The flow technologies and picture Royal College of Art, London for quality. Previously, in over 20 years his Masters. A year spent in Rome at Universal Pictures, Bill worked on the Prix De Rome scholar- with technology companies and ship led to a confirmation of a content licensees on digital for- love of Cinema as an art form. mat launches, digital distribution and media technolo- McDonough has 20 years of experience as a cinema- gies growth and development of digital media ecosystems. tographer with such directors as David Mackenzie He is known for advancing new forms of digital media, (Starred Up), Rodrigo Garcia (Albert Nobbs), Terence including DVD, Internet VOD/EST, DVHS, STB/TV Davies (Sunset Song), Stephen Frears (Lay the Favourite), streaming, Blu-Ray/HD DVD/BD-Live, 3D, High Dy- Michael Radford (Elsa and Fred), and Lawrence Kasdan namic Range (HDR), UHD and interactive extensions to (Darling Companion) in film, and many more in television. digital distribution. He has received an Independent Spirit Award Nomina- tion and a London Evening Times award nomination. In Michael Karagosian is the Presi- addition to his membership in the ASC and the British dent of MKPE Consulting LLC, a Society of Cinematographers, McDonough is also a consultancy based in Los Angeles, member of the Directors Guild of America. In 2015, he CA. He is an accomplished leader directed an episode of the popular television series he was in entertainment technology, with shooting for AMC, Fear the Walking Dead. This came on expertise in negotiation strategy the shoulders of a 16 part promotional series for the same and in all aspects of patent devel- series that garnered an Emmy Nomination in 2016 for opment and defense. Major accom- Best New Media and Short Form Program. plishments include the negotiation

September 2017 | SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal 45 of virtual print fee subsidies with the major Hollywood Associates, and Executive Producer of The Columbus studios for up to U.S. $300 million of cinema equipment Project for computer graphics and interactive media in Ireland, Philippines, and South America. He was a pioneer Robert Abel. Co-Founder of CinemaAcoustics, a division of Peavey In 2014, the International 3D and Advanced Imaging Electronics, and a member of the Board of Directors for Society recognized Schklair and 3ALITY with the pres- pioneering 3D conversion company In-Three. Karagosian tigious Century Award. Schklair is an associate member represented the technology interests of the National As- of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), a sociation of Theatre Owners for 11 years during the digi- member of the Producer’s Guild of America (PGA), and tal cinema transition. He has an engineering degree from an award-winning member of the VES. U.C. Berkeley, with graduate work at Santa Clara Uni- versity and UCLA. Karagosian is a Co-Chair of the ASC Gary Demos has been a pioneer Motion Imaging Technology Council on Next Generation in the development of computer Cinema Display, a SMPTE Life Fellow, and a Life Mem- generated images for use in motion ber of the Audio Engineering Society. pictures, digital image processing, and image compression. He was Eric Rodli has been involved in a founder of Digital Productions the management and development (1982–1986), and was awarded an of entertainment technology since Academy of Motion Picture Arts the late 1980s when he became the and Sciences Scientific and Engi- President of Iwerks Entertainment; neering Award in 1984 along with a pioneer in large format film, John Whitney Jr. “For the Practical Simulation of Motion motion simulation theaters, and Picture Photography By Means of Computer-Generated other immersive technologies. He Images.” Gary also founded Whitney-Demos Produc- subsequently had senior roles in a tions (1986–1988), DemoGraFX (1988–2003), and variety of entertainment and media Image Essence LLC (2005 to present). Gary Demos is the organizations, including being a partner in the entertain- recipient of the AMPAS 2005 Gordon E. Sawyer Oscar for ment consulting practice of PwC as well as the President lifetime technical achievement. Gary is actively involved in of Kodak’s Motion Picture Division. He currently pro- the ASC Technology Committee and has worked on the vides strategic advisory services to companies in the enter- AMPAS ACES project. Gary has presented numerous pa- tainment technology industry. He is an Associate member pers at SMPTE, given a SMPTE webinar, is a SMPTE of the ASC. Rodli received a BA in economics from the Fellow, and received the 2012 SMPTE Digital Processing University of California, San Diego, and MBA from the Medal. Gary is the inventor of approximately one hundred University of Chicago. patents.

Steve Schklair, is a producer, Jim Fancher developed next- cinematographer, and the founder generation technology in digital and CEO of 3ALITY. Schklair led asset management for Deluxe the development of the best known Digital Media in Burbank, CA. digital 3D camera systems, and Previously, he was a Chief Sci- served as the Technical Producer ence Officer at the Thomson on the groundbreaking U23D Corporate Research facility in movie released in 2007. He has Burbank, where he worked on provided technology and expertise cluster computing architectures for 3D films including The Hob- for image processing, 3D color correction systems, bit, X-Men, The Martian, and Transformers. Schklair and digital asset management technology. As a Chief also served as 3D producer for the Russian epic, Stalin- Technology Officer for Technicolor Creative Services grad, directed by Fedor Bondarchuk. He has been noted and the post-production arm of Technicolor, he was for leading the 3D television movement, shooting the first involved in the development of color management sys- live 3D broadcasts from the NFL, the BCS Champion- tems, image processing and media asset management. ship, sports programming for BSkyB, the Super Bowl, and Fancher has been a part of managing Technicolor’s the World Cup, along with live concert films such as Katy world class DI facility (formerly known as Technique) Perry, One Direction, and The Black Eyed Peas. as well as the deployment of DI processes to Montreal Prior to 3ality, Schklair was a Vice President of and New York. Prior to his engagement at Technicol- Digital Domain during the production of such films as or, he was a Chief Science Officer for Pacific Ocean Apollo 13, The Fifth Element, Titanic, and Terminator Post, where he started POP Sound, POP Film, which 2:3D. He was also creative director for R/Greenberg won two Academy Awards for visual effects, and the

46 SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal | September 2017 POP-Cinram DVD center. Fancher holds a bachelor tive, DreamworksTV, NBC Universal, and YouTube. He degree in Chemistry from Princeton University, nu- has taught cinematography classes and seminars at AFI, merous patents, and has been a member of SMPTE Chapman University, and Woodbury University. For for- since 1974. mal training, he received a Master of Fine Arts in cinematography at the renowned American Film Institute Con- Gary Mandle has worked within servatory and proudly received mentorship from Stephen Sony Electronics in the develop- Lighthill, ASC; Robert Primes, ASC; David Stump, ASC; ment of new display and imaging Greg McMurry, ASC; and Ron Garcia, ASC. He previ- technologies as a design engineer ously studied biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins and product manager. Products University, worked in the scientific imaging world for seven that Mandle has been involved with years at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and developed include the introduction of Sony’s his photographic skills in the streets, subways, and byways BVM and PVM CRT model line- of New York City. up, the introduction of LCD for professional monitoring, the implementation of Sony’s dig- Joshua Pines is the Vice Presi- ital cinema projection systems, both GLV and SXRD tech- dent of Imaging Research and nologies, and the development of Sony’s current OLED Development, Technicolor Digital technology. Mandle has authored several SMPTE, IEEE, Intermediates which provides the and SID journals and has been a contributing author of motion picture industry with digi- several technology text books with regard to CRT, Plas- tal color correction processes for ma, LCD, and OLED. Other areas of work include the theatrically released films. Pines design of camera image stabilization systems and CCD is in charge of imaging and color sensor development where he holds multiple patents. science projects. He joined Tech- Memberships include CIE, IEEE, SID, OSA and he is an nicolor after more than 10 years at Industrial Light & associate member of the American Society of Cinematog- Magic, where he supervised their film scanning/record- raphers as well as a board member of SMPTE as Western ing department from its inception, and worked exten- Area Governor which includes San Francisco, Sacramen- sively with both traditional and digital cinema technolo- to, the Northwest, and Rocky Mountain sections. gies. He started his career teaching film courses at the Cooper Union in New York City after earning a degree Greg Ciaccio is a Managing in electrical engineering there. He began working in vi- Partner of [RE] Design Group, sual effects at MAGI in 1982 at the tail end of their work primarily focused on finding new on Tron, went on to lead the computer graphics division technology and workflow solutions at R/Greenberg Associates in New York City, and then for the Motion Picture, Television, supervised film effects and film recording at Degraf/ and VR/AR/MR industries. Previ- Wahrman in Los Angeles before working for ILM. He ously, Ciaccio served in technical has received a Technical Achievement Award from the management roles for the respec- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and has tive Creative Services divisions for credits on numerous feature films. both Deluxe and Technicolor. Key developments include the first DP Lights deployments for Technicolor and full David Morin is the Chairman near set dailies solutions for Deluxe Television. Ciaccio of the Joint Technology Commit- is a member of SMPTE, ASC Motion Imaging Tech- tee on Virtual Production, a joint nology Council, AMPAS Sci-Tech Council, HPA, and effort of six Hollywood-based or- DCS. He holds a BA degree in radio-television-film from ganizations: the American Society California State University, Northridge, where he cur- of Cinematographers (ASC), the rently teaches post-production part time. Art Director’s Guild (ADG), the Tim Kang is a Los Angeles-based Visual Effects Society (VES), the cinematographer, working in the Previsualization Society, PGA, film and television industry primar- and the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG). ily as a Director of Photography He was a past Co-Chair of the “ASC-ADG-VES Joint on narrative, commercial, music Technology Committee on Previsualization,” a commit- video, and documentary projects. tee that helped define the role of previsualization in the In addition to multiple features, film industry, and he just started a new ASC-ICG joint pilots, and shorts, his list of com- Committee on VR, to study VR from the cinematogra- mercial clients includes: Cover Girl, phers point of view. He also organized the first “Acad- Delta, LA Kings, Disney Interac- emy Summit on Open Source Software” on behalf of the

September 2017 | SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal 47 Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Mo- for artist approvals and technical quality for all electronic tion Picture Arts and Sciences. Morin earned a BScA de- distribution. He received the Digital Pioneer Award at gree in computer science from Laval University, Quebec ShoWest 2006 and served on DCI for ten years. Smith City, Canada, and has participated in the development is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and of motion capture and 3D software since Jurassic Park at Sciences and recently served for 9 years on the Science companies such as Softimage, Microsoft, Avid Technol- and Technology Council. Prior to Paramount Pictures, ogy, and Autodesk. Today he is president of David Morin, he worked in various post production positions for LLC, a diversified consultancy specializing in immersive Columbia Pictures, New World Pictures and the CBS production, working with such clients as the Academy of Television Network. He is also an Associate Member Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Arri Inc., Autodesk, of the American Society of Cinematographers and Lec- and others. He works from his base in Los Angeles, CA. tures at various Universities. In his free time he can be found on the Napali coast in Kauai or creating glass art Garrett J. Smith is currently in Santa Barbara. senior creative liaison at Enter- tainment Technology Consultants. W. Thomas Wall is a retired Computer Systems He previously served as the Vice Designer and Professional Photographer. He is the Chief President, production technology Technology Officer at LightView. and digital mastering operations at Paramount Pictures. During his 24 year tenure at Paramount Pictures, Smith was responsible A contribution received May 2017. Copyright © 2017 by SMPTE.

48 SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal | September 2017